The "Red Vienna" stands for achievements like the municipal housing, which the Social Democracy can proudly claim. It is often also meant that they are the dominant party in the federal capital: Although they no longer have an absolute majority, they still hold a clear majority. In the municipal council election a year ago, they achieved around 39 percent, staying 19 points ahead of the second-placed FPÖ. Today, that would be different. According to an OGM survey for the "Kurier," the gap could shrink to seven points. Accordingly, the SPÖ holds only 34 percent, and the FPÖ already reaches 27 percent. 

Of course: Firstly, this is a snapshot and secondly, it must be seen in light of the circumstances. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) and Co. have made themselves unpopular. After the election on April 27, 2025, they implemented many austerity and burden measures, thereby virtually admitting that the budget had gotten out of control before the election. Above all, they did something they originally ruled out: They significantly increased the annual ticket price for the Wiener Linien. Moreover, they have also hit the brakes on social policy, disappointing people who lean more to the left of center. A lot is coming together here.

It is all the worse for them that they cannot assume that better times will soon return: General uncertainties remain huge, and inflation is rising again. Additionally, with the reduction of social benefits, there is a risk that more poverty will become visible in the city and conflicts will increase. 

Furthermore, what makes the aforementioned achievement called municipal housing forgotten: Vienna is growing rapidly, but too little is being built. Despite all the announcements by the new housing councilor Elke Hanel-Torsch, this threatens not to change quickly: Building permits are the completions of the coming one or two years, and these permits were still in the basement compared to the peaks at the end of the 2010s, beginning of the 2020s. 

Meanwhile, far too many people in Vienna are already stuck in a real housing crisis. While nine percent of households nationwide face a housing cost overload, in the federal capital it is much more at 16 percent. This means they have to spend over 40 percent of their available income solely on rent and the like.

All in all, these are circumstances that are dangerous for the Social Democracy: They can increasingly no longer fulfill their promise that everyone will be well off. Conversely, the Freedom Party benefits from this, gathering the dissatisfied and frustrated. Also in Vienna. Although they have comparatively many voters against them here, making it by no means easy to reach first place as in the rest of Austria, it is no longer impossible.

Johannes Huber runs the blog  – Analyses and Backgrounds on Politics

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